


When Spider Met Tiger

by dofensphinx



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Daredevil (TV), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, Indie Heroes AU, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-04-16 17:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4634496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dofensphinx/pseuds/dofensphinx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avengers protect the world, but who deals with the little things? That's what people like Spider-man and White Tiger are for, you would think they could get some respect. Cops, the Avengers, the media, no one seems to want believe their doing good. Good thing they'll have each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I think this AU/fic needs some explanation, the idea was inspired partly by the Ultimate Spiderman cartoon where White Tiger and Spiderman work together, and partly because Ava is one of my favorite heroes. I was trying to figure out an MCU!Ava, which led to this. For those of you that don't know about Ava, she and Hector are on wikipedia but more about her will be explained in this fic. Amazing Spiderman is not canon to this fic, and neither really are the comics. I'm just taking inspiration. Basically just the MCU movies are.
> 
> As for what these two look like since it's MCU, I still put Andrew Garfield as Peter and Naya Rivera as Ava.
> 
> Also I can't figure out how to mark this as unfinished but there is more coming.

Peter had always been interested in biology, even before the accident, but it had only encouraged his interest in the subject. He wanted to understand what had happened to him, why everything had been so twisted and changed to the point where sometimes he still looked in the mirror wand wanted to ask who it was. His work at the school lab and his lab at home let him understand his own biology and at the same time get the grades that some people would dream about. Grades that made him the center of much mocking and physical abuse throughout high school, at least until his powers made it so no one wanted to mess with him anymore.

“I’m fine Harry”, not that high school had been all bad, he had his friends, those that had been able to stick with him when Uncle Ben died. He understood that for a lot of people it had been a little bit too much. Fifteen-year-olds didn’t lose one of their guardians, and they didn’t know how to deal with it. He didn’t blame them for that, he had his own issues with the whole thing. Uncle Ben’s death hit him hard, losing his only father figure took away lot of the support system that he had, “School is great, I’m getting through all of it” 

Harry had stayed with him, trying to be as much of a friend as he could, even after Uncle Ben’s death. He didn’t understand totally, but he knew enough to know that losing someone that actually loved him was hard. Harry didn’t have that, he always felt that his father didn’t love him because he wasn’t good enough.

“Have you even be doing anything fun?” Peter could hear whatever Harry was doing on the other end, probably getting coffee because he was too hungover to function, “It’s college Pete, you can’t just study yourself to death”

Peter sighed, shifting his phone to squeeze it between his shoulder and ear, swinging through the rooftops sometimes it required almost losing his phone. But still even with that it was faster and cheaper than driving or taking the bus, “How’s your dad Harry?” He asked, hoping to shift the conversation away from his habits, to what was going on with Norman. He was the reason that Norman was in a hospital right now, doctors trying to figure out if they could help him.

Spiderman and Norman’s accident tore them apart though in the end. Harry just hated Spiderman so much that it took over his being. The few times Peter had seen him, he felt like he was talking to someone completely different than the boy he had grown up with. It was his fault because he was Spiderman and Spiderman was the reason that Harry lost his own father. It was hard to talk to harry now, even if Harry didn’t know that Spiderman and Peter Parker were one in the same.

“...he’s fine. He still won’t talk to me”, there was a hint of Bitterness in Harry’s voice, not at his father but at Spiderman. Peter knew Harry well enough to know that much, even if Harry had changed in that year. 

Peter had hoped that maybe leaving the country, going to study in Britain would help Harry, a change of scenery away from everything that had caused him so much pain. Apparently it wasn’t actually helping. Harry was still bitter and angry about everything that had happened.  
“I’m sorry Harry…”, even with Harry’s voice in his ear, he could hear the sirens in the distance, telling him that something was going on, “Ah I gotta go, I’m gonna lose the signal in a second, I’ll call you later” He slid his finger across the phone, not waiting for Harry’s answer and shoved it into his pocket. He changed his direction, heading towards the sound of the sirens. 

It was enough to find the police cars, they were all crowded around a few blocks, including at least two buildings that looked like something ran straight through them. Peter landed on a building a little ways away from the commotion, pulling his phone back out. He zoomed in with his camera, snapping a few pictures of whatever was going on so he could look later. He checked the time and cursed. He was going to be so late for class. 

 

 

He had still managed to squeeze out a scholarship and admission to Berkeley even with all of the Goblin mess. Still, he had to live at home because there was no way that he could afford rent right now. Not that Aunt May would mind, she loved having him around, Peter being the only family that she had left. University wasn’t much better than High School, he was still the one on the outside. Yes, there was people just as smart as him, but he was a poor kid, someone who could barely afford his books. Too geeky for the frat boys and too poor for the smart kids. 

 

So he stopped trying to relate to anyone, talked just enough that he could call someone if he needed homework. He didn’t make friends, he didn’t try. Making friends would just end up with someone else getting hurt all over again. Uncle Ben, Harry, even Flash he had hurt because he was Spiderman.

Like Uncle Ben had told him, With great power comes great responsibility. And his responsibility was to make sure that no one else got hurt, either because he was stopping someone from hurting them, or making sure that he didn’t hurt them in the first place.

That thinking started to change when he met someone, however, someone who made him look at everything just a little bit differently.

*

He had pulled his clothes over his suit in an alley, something that was never comfortable no matter how many times he did it and raced towards his classroom. Peter jogged through the hallway, just in front of the classroom door he smacked into something hard. His head snapped back and he almost fell back. 

“Shit ow!” a woman’s voice said, his mind a little foggy from the hit to get where she was coming from. His vision cleared and he could see her standing in front of him.

The dark skinned woman was holding her head, a motorcycle helmet in her other hand. From the process of elimination he guessed she had been what he had run into. She was pretty, but her brown eyes were flashing with anger. 

“I’m sorry!” He lifted his hands, he wasn’t sure if he had run into her or if she had run into him, but she was looking incredibly pissed at him and he had learned anything it was not to make her any more angry.

“You can come in students, I’m sure that we’re all waiting for you”, a voice called from inside the classroom, followed by some snickers. Apparently the professor had heard their little incident

What a fantastic way to start off the day, he thought to himself as he walked in the door of the lab, the woman following behind him the helmet still in hand. 

 

“You two can take your seats right there, Mr. Parker and Ms. Ayala” he pointed to the empty lab bench in the middle of the classroom, “Now that we’re all here”, the Professor sent a look Peter’s way, “We can continue…”, he began speaking about the syllabus, what they would be covering that semester, the dates of exams and his policy on lateness, yet another look at Peter and Ava, and so on. The sort of thing that everyone was expecting on the first day of class, even if they were the third year students at this point.

Finally when he was done going through everything, he began speaking about something more relevant to them, “Your lab partner for the rest of the semester will be whoever you have chosen to sit with today. That is, the person you share a lab bench with is the same person you have to work with. And with that introduce yourself because we’re going to be starting your first assignment very soon”

He still didn’t know his partner’s first name, but he knew that it was totally possible that they wouldn’t be getting along. Her forehead was bright red where he had smacked into her, he was sure that his forehead looked the same. And her lips were pressed into a solid line, showing her displeasure. 

It took a moment but she finally spoke, “Ava”, he blinked at her, like he was confused with her statement” I’m Ava Ayala”, she raised an eyebrow, he could only assume that he was sitting there with a dumb look on his face.

“Ah...Peter Parker”, he held his hand out to her, and she took it. Her grip was strong, even for him, which was surprising. Since the bite, his strength was more than average humans and he couldn’t find anyone to match him. She was some kind of special something, he could tell that already. And he was a little terrified, he had made a woman that strong angry. 

“...I think we can forget about the whole running into each other thing, if you don’t mind”, she tried to smile at him, but the look was more forced. He didn’t blame her for that, his head hurt too, “If you don’t mind Peter. We do need to get along if we’re going to be working together don’t we?”

“Yeah...I think that’ll work”, he felt a little better that she was saying that, apparently she didn’t blame him for what had happened, or if she did she was willing to forgive, “I’m still sorry about running into you. I didn’t want to be late”

“Did you see the mess in Soho too or was it just traffic?” she put her helmet under the desk, the fiberglass clicking against the tile floor, “Or I guess both of them are connection, the traffic is shit because of that mess”

“Ah, yeah the mess. I was...a little confused about what was happening. It looked like a rhino had run through the building or something. Wish I had more time to look around”, of course, that’s why he had taken the pictures he had, so he could look later. 

 

The professor handed a pile of papers to the first desk, “A fairly simple activity for you on our first day, I want you to identify the 36 different bones that are displayed in this booklet. If you can’t do that...then you might not be suited for this class”

When the packet reached them, Ava looked back at him, “What did the femur say to the patella?” She asked, a different sort of a smile on her face. It wasn’t mocking or anything, just that she was pleased with something.

“Ah...what?” What a weird thing for her to ask him, “I’m...not sure?”

“I need you”, she continued to smile, like she was expecting him to get the joke. 

It took him a moment to understand what she was getting at, his brain still a little bit stuck on the fact everyone in the class seemed to want to make fun of him. 

“It’s a joke”, the smile fell from her face, a disappointed look replacing it. 

He realized that she had been attempting to be friendly with him, making a joke that was related to the project they would be working on, “I’m sorry!” Peter had a feeling that he was going to be saying that a lot in the next little while. Apparently he couldn’t do anything right with her right now.

Her face changed again, this time she looked a little more confused, like she didn’t understand why he was apologizing for not getting her joke, “It’s not your fault, my jokes aren’t that great. I know that much”

“And I’m not smart enough to get them even”, he smiled, the edges of his mouth curling up sheepishly. This day was just a mess of embarrassment, it was starting to feel like nothing was going right today. Considering Peter’s life, though, things often didn’t go right for him. He didn’t have good luck with friendships or any sort of social thing most of the time. Not that he should get too friendly with her, it would probably end in tears for one of them.

She smiled, “I think we’re both doing a completely shitty job at getting along. Maybe we should just work on the project and then try and deal with being friends another time?”

Peter brushed his hair back from his head, if he had been more interested in her, which he should have been, she was a pretty girl, he would have been happy to get a second chance, “That’ll work”, he grinned at her, feeling a little bit more relieved that even if they couldn’t be friends, they could be partners. 

It was a hard that she was so nice, if she had been angry or cruel it would have been easier to brush her off. She might be a problem for him.

*

When Ava Ayala was ten years old, she came home to find her whole family dead on her kitchen floor, just moments before the bullet went straight through the top of her chest, just above her heart. She would never find out if the killer only wanted to wound her or if he was just so surprised that he missed her heart. 

She never would either, not that she ever found out much about the murders until years later. She was shuffled around family members, under fear that whoever had killed her family would come after her again. SHIELD had done most of the shuffling, apparently a ten-year-old was easier to hide in her family than any kind of witness protection. 

It wasn’t until she was older that she's understood why it had all happened. Her brother hadn’t just been a cop, he had been a superhero too, one of the first since Captain America to get any press. He had gone after a high-level mobster, one who had figured out his identity. Apparently getting rid of just Hector wasn’t enough, they had to get rid of everyone.

For most people what had happened to her family would have been enough to keep her from becoming a hero like her brother. But she wasn’t most people, as soon as she had been old enough and had been able to find what had given him his powers she had started her career as the White Tiger. 

Ava swung her leg over her bike, pulling her helmet on over her head. The bike had been her brother’s, even after he was gone she kept it running just as nice as the day he bought it. He had loved it, and she loved it for him.

Pulling out of the parking lot Ava took a deep breath as she started on the road towards where the damage was. She had managed to get it out of Peter that he had been around Soho, s all she had to do was look for the mess of people who wanted to see what was going on.

Hector would have told her she was being too curious, that she should leave it for the proper authorities. He had said that every time she even thought about asking him about one of the cases she heard on TV, just because he was a cop didn’t mean he would tell her everything. 

Now that he was gone she was the proper authorities, technically. The Avengers dealt with those things that were worldwide, like the robot who had tried to kill everyone, but she was the one who was dealing with New York. Well her and that Spiderman dude, not that she had seen very much of him. He was sort of elusive, she was more so. Spiderman was on the news if it was only because JJ was ranting about him. She never showed up anywhere. The White Tiger could stay in the shadows, something he could learn from her.

The damage was easy to find, as she had thought there was a great amount of people crowding around the yellow police tape. She pulled the bike off to the side, not bothering to remove her helmet. She would prefer not to be noticed right now, it was easier to hide under the helmet.

It was just like Peter had described, several buildings had large holes in the side, almost like something had run straight through them. The several police officers standing around looked just as confused as everyone else. She could hear the noise of the crowd, muffled by her helmet. The words aliens and superheroes appeared several times but as far as she could tell, no one could figure out what was going on.

Once she could have gone up to one of the officers, casually dropped her brother’s name and gotten any information she wanted. Those days were long past, she wasn’t allowed to mention his name anymore. Witness protection was something she had been dealing with since she was ten, but it still didn’t get any easier.

She scooted through the crowd, attempting to get closer to the yellow police tape. As she reached the edges, the crowd was beginning to part away from something. The closer the parting got to her, it was easier to see what was going on. A large black van was pushing its way through, with no identification on the shiny surface. Feds was her first guess, that was generally who you saw in cars like that.

The van pulled to a stop just outside the yellow tape, not that far from where she was standing. After a moment the doors of the van slid open, the first person that came out was what she would be expecting for a fed. Middle aged man with a close-cropped haircut and a nicely tailored suit, he even put a pair of mirrored sunglasses on. 

It wasn’t until the next few people came out that she started to reevaluate her originally idea that they were feds. The rest of the team was wearing street clothes, and none of them was what she would call a fed. 

The two of the people, the fed, and an Asian woman approached the police officers that were standing around. Ava strained her ears to hear what they said, but she wasn’t quite ready for what she did hear. 

“SHIELD”, he flashed a badge in their faces, though that didn’t stop the look of shock from crossing the police officers face. 

She was fairly sure that the same look was on her face, SHIELD had been out of commission since the Captain had revealed them to be HYDRA. They had been attempting to rebuild their reputation, but she hadn’t actually heard anything about them beyond that. Apparently they were doing good on that front.

Whatever was going on it wasn’t good if SHIELD was there, they only went after the big things. She knew that from personal experience, though at the time she hadn’t known what they really were. For a moment, Ava thought about staying to hear what they thought was going on, but it was safer to leave. 

She took one last look at the scene before she turned away, going for her bike. She would find out what had happened on the news later. It was safer that way.


	2. Chapter 2

He switched the TV on straight to the news, he had spent the last few hours working on his blog, updating it with the pictures of the damage. The blog had been Harry’s idea more than anything, but it had been inspired by JJ Jameson, even as much as JJ hated him. It had been a contest for decent pictures of Spiderman, a 500 dollar prize. Taking pictures of himself was easy enough, and despite the fact JJ tried to argue his pictures had to be fake, he had gotten the money and a job offer. It had been Harry’s suggestion that because the paper news was dying out that he start his own blog. In the end, he had gone with that idea, and Spider Sightings site was born.

The pictures of the damage weren't as interesting as Spiderman pictures, but it was something and he was hoping that one of his viewers could give him a rumor or something that he couldn’t see. From what he could see, and what he knew from prior experience being thrown through walls, he knew for sure that the holes were made by someone going through the wall.

Crossing his legs underneath him, he leaned back and let the sounds of the new wash over him. It was easier to get his information from the locals because anything important would be repeated several times over until he could repeat the report word for word. 

Despite his more scientific pursuits, he always had enjoyed photography, if only at first because of the chemical reaction involved in developing photos. As he continued on the path, he found it more enjoyable just for the artistic side of it. He took pleasure in setting up the shots of himself, working out how to make it look like someone else was taking the shots.

It was sort of weird, but when he looked at Ava, even when he had been afraid she was going to start screaming at him, he had wanted to take pictures of her. It wasn’t a thing where he was attracted to her, he got the feeling she didn’t date a lot, but that he thought she was aesthetically attractive. 

Of course he had never actually asked anyone to pose for him, it always seemed like the sort of creepy thing that you didn’t say to someone you just met. The only person he had actually had posed for him was Mary Jane, and only because she wanted headshots. Him doing a favour because they were friends was a hell of a lot cheaper than her paying a professional.

In that case, she had asked him and he hadn’t asked her, so the creep factor was a hell of a lot lower. Peter pushed the heels of hands into his eyes, trying to rub out the thoughts that were overwhelming his head. Maybe it would have been easier if there was someone he could talk to about all of this, but no one knew his secret, he was alone.

“Today in Soho the residents were shocked to find that several buildings within their neighbourhood were destroyed by a mysterious force. Reports started at 5 am this morning, but no one can say for sure what they saw. The sightings are scattered, but all that has been confirmed is that it was one person”, the blond reporter stood in front of the police tape, the destruction in the background. She had chosen one of the largest holes, to display the most of the damage as she could with one shot.

She took a step to the left, the camera panning with her, so a black van came into view, “SHIELD Is on the scene, not having been seen this publically since Captain America's take down of the Hydra cells working within them. Their involvement implies that we are dealing with another threat on the level of Ultron or the Battle of New York. Just how bad this is, only time will tell”

So SHIELD was involved, something that everyone knew meant there was something big going on in Soho. It would also mean that he would have to be a hell of a lot more careful when he was sneaking around. If SHIELD caught him, he wasn’t sure what they would do to him if anything. But the fear was still there, the fear that he would be put under the microscope and be poked and prodded like the spider who had originally bitten him.

Peter found it hard to trust anyone, even the people who were supposed to be the good guys. He had gotten burned one too many times by the people who were supposed to be the good guys. Norman was only one example of what he had dealt with, in that case, Norman was someone who had taken Peter under his wing, if only because he saw Peter as the perfect son. When everything had come crashing down around the Osborn, Peter had felt like he had been betrayed almost as much as Harry had.

It was hard to trust when your father figure turns into a green bastard who wanted to kill you. Even before Norman had become the Goblin, he had wanted Spider-man for his own reasons, reasons that weren’t about helping people but power and money. It was an attempt to make another Spider-man that created the Green Goblin, that attempt combined with Norman’s own rage.

If he couldn’t trust someone he had known since he was a child, there was no way that he could trust someone he didn’t even know. Especially people like SHIELD who had been proven to be corrupted from the inside out, no matter what they said about being a new SHIELD. The risk was way too high for someone like to be turned into the next super soldier project.

So in short he couldn’t trust anyone, not even the people he was supposed to be able to trust. Something that drove him up the wall, he had been told from the time he was small that he was supposed to be able to trust the authorities. Of course, as he had gotten older he had learned, that the authorities couldn’t always be trusted. Uncle Ben’s death had taught him that if nothing else. He could tell that they weren’t putting their full attention into the case, an old man who was going to die anyways wasn’t that much of a priority for them.

Captain Stacy's desire to keep Spider-man off the streets just made that point even more clear to him. He didn’t see why resources should be wasted on him when there were actual monsters out there to be caught. He was attempting to help and they were just hindering him. He had to wonder if the same thing had happened to Captain America or Iron Man if he was the only Superhero that got completely railroaded by the police or other authorities.  
Probably not, they weren’t teenaged superhero when they started and most of the time they either had the government or money behind them. Things he didn’t have, he was just a poor nerdy kid with none of the resources that so many heroes got. Peter had really got the short end of the stick in the hero game.

In the end, there wasn’t a hero that didn’t get some bit of screwed over if he really thought about it. Tony Stark had lost his parents at a young age and everyone could tell you about his battles with alcoholism. Steve Rogers wasn’t known as the man out of time for nothing, he had literally lost everything in his life and he still went on protecting people. That wasn’t even getting into what Bruce Banner had gone through becoming the Hulk, being hunted down like an animal because of what had happened to him.

Maybe that was the thing with being a hero, that you had to go through something terrible so that you could have a reason to keep on fighting or protecting people so they wouldn’t have it as bad as you did. Not that he could claim to be as heroic as Captain America or to have saved as many people as the Avengers had. He was only doing his best, what he could do with the limited resources that had been given to him. Peter was smart and resourceful, but there was only so much one college kid with a blog and superpowers could do.

A kid with superpowers and a blog who was being hunted by the police and constantly being harassed by the media could do. Peter leaned his head back against the couch, his life was like some kind of goddamn ridiculous TV show.

One he was being forced to star in against his will like it was some kind of sick joke the universe was playing on him.

*

“So I’ll see you next week teach?” Flash attempted a smile as he hoisted his backpack over his shoulder. When they had first met it had been hard for him and Ava to get along, he had assumed that she would be doing all of his homework instead of teaching him to do it himself. After she had kicked that idea out of him, they had gotten along better. She still didn’t want to be friends with him, he was nice but...just not her type. And apparently anything in a skirt was his.

“As long as you keep the money comin’”, she smiled slightly, she would have let Flash miss a few payments because he was actually trying, but she couldn’t afford not to be paid completely. Tutoring was where her rent payments and grocery money came from. She was lucky enough to have her tuition covered to a point, but there was always something coming up.

Flash laughed nervously before he left the library, Ava stayed behind not quite ready to go. She liked the main room of the library, where they were allowed to talk and the TV was turned on to the news. It was nicer than being alone where she’d be alone with her thoughts. Even if she didn’t talk to anyone else at least they were around.

The past few days, in fact, since she had met Peter Parker and been late to class, the news had been talking about nothing but SHIELD and the destroyed section of town. It had become nothing but speculation about who was doing it and why they hadn’t struck again. Apparently going over the same material over and over again wasn’t enough to drive them out of their minds yet.

It was definitely driving her out of her mind if nothing else, but tonight they had a new story for their viewing public.

“This morning’s shooting victim has been identified as Officer Harvey Bullock, a rookie officer with only a few months of services. He leaves behind a young wife and daughter…”, the reporter’s voice trailed off, Ava barely hearing it after she realized what the story was about.

Of course it had to be a shooting of a young cop with a family, not that any shooting wouldn’t have affected her at least a little bit, but cops always hit her a little bit harder than most.

The reporter’s voice seemed to fade in and out, Ava just catching bits and pieces of the story, “Unknown assailant...bank robbery...died almost immediately”, at the same time she could almost hear the reports of Hector’s death from when she was in the hospital.

“Officer Hector Ayala also known as the White Tiger to some was shot by an unknown man while still in costume. Police are unsure if his death has anything to do with his police work but believe that the deaths of his family are connected. At this time none of the Ayala family survives. The memorial date has yet to be set”

Ava leaned head back against the headrest of the couch, attempting to remind herself that she wasn’t in ten years old and in the hospital. It was hard to forget sometimes, that fourteen years had passed since her shooting. Sometimes she felt like she was ten still just in a body that was too big and too old. It was a terrible feeling, there was no physical pain, but the emotional pain was still deep in her soul.

She whined slightly, a throbbing headache starting behind her eyes. Stress tended to cause them, which never seemed to stop coming for her. School, bills, superhero, it all just kind of piled on one after another until she couldn’t take it anymore.

There were probably healthier ways of dealing it all of it, but by the time she thought of them, her brain was already exploding from the pressure. Sleep. Maybe she just needed a little bit of sleep, something that she hadn’t been getting lately with trying to find the thing that was running around destroying the city. Not that she could sleep her, or that she wanted to go home.

If she looked at her bike it might be enough to break her down all over again. It had belonged her brother originally, and sometimes just seeing the things that belonged to Hector was enough for her.

“You should rub the back of your neck, right where your head and neck connect”, she hadn’t noticed that Peter had appeared beside her until he spoke. She stared at him with wide eyes, blinking at him, his words seemingly unable to be understood, “Ah...you were holding your head like you had a headache. If you rub where your head connects to your neck, it helps relieve the pressure in your head”

She stared at him for a moment longer, before unfurling her legs from underneath her. Her hand went to her neck, kneading her fingers into the spot that Peter had suggested. The pressure slowly started to alleviate from her head. “...Thank you”, Ava wasn’t sure why he had come over in the first place, they weren’t friends, they were really barely lab patterns at this point. Beyond having run into each other rather literally, they didn’t have anything in common.

“It’s no problem. I used to get them in high school, stress and not enough sleep. Caffeine helps sometimes too...not that I assume you need my advice with all of this”, he rubbed the back of his own head, ruffling his hair a bit as he preached on the edge of the couch, “I didn’t mean to bother you, especially if you’re in pain”

Ava shrugged her shoulders, dropping her hand to lap, the pain had gone away enough that she could function now, “You helped me, that’s the important part”, despite the fact her head barely hurt, she still felt a little fuzzy, like her head, was full of cotton, or she was completely detached from her body. It was almost weird to feel connected to herself someday, “I was going to have to take aspirin or something”

“I mean we have class tomorrow and you having a headache in class wouldn’t be good for our projects. And I want to be friends, I mean if you want to be friends”

It seemed like Peter was the kind of person that once he got nervous he talked until he couldn’t talk any longer, rambling just to cover up how nervous he was. She didn’t mind, she didn’t talk a lot herself so having someone else to fill the silence was nice.

“I’m rambling”, he said finally, his face a slight pink colour with embarrassment at realizing what he was doing.

“I don’t mind, you can keep talking”, she said, giving him the most of a smile that she could manage. That probably looked more like a grimace, but it was good enough for the moment. He wasn’t making her happy, just, keeping the worse feeling away.

Peter didn’t seem to mind her terrible excuse for a smile, but he continued to speak, about their project in class, or nothing at all. She didn’t mind what he talked about, it was just that the sound of his voice was enough for her. Something to allow her to connect her to the real world instead of just floating anyway for a few hours.

Maybe Peter wasn’t so bad, even if he didn’t know why she wanted him to talk.

*

Peter didn’t tell Ava the real reason that he had come over, he was able to notice the signs of a panic attack or a flashback, and she had been displaying them pretty strongly. To someone else she might have just looked like she was just zoned out. It wasn’t that he was lying why he said he had noticed she had a headache, he had. She was rubbing her head, and his tip had clearly worked for her.

She was looking at least a little bit more comfortable now, listening to the sound of him talk. Maybe they weren’t friends, but he didn’t think anyone should have to sit alone and feel like their brain was betraying them.

Her eyes were a little bit glassy still like she wasn’t totally able to focus on him or anything in the real world, so he kept talking.

“I mean I didn’t think I was going to be here this late, so I wouldn't have seen you. I guess it’s good because you wouldn’t have been able to go home on your bike with a headache. I mean I assume so, but I’ve never been on a bike”

“It wouldn’t have been pleasant. A lot of vibrating”, she admitted, just thinking about sitting on her bike when her head hurt would have been greatly unpleasant, “Maybe I’ll take you on a ride someday, as long as you promise not to scream”

“I don’t scream!” he laughed at her comment though, on some level glad that she was comfortable enough to make a comment like that, “I mean it can’t be that scary!”

There was the possibility that even with that small gesture he was getting closer to Ava then he had wanted too, he had become convinced that he didn’t need any more friends to hurt. But there was just something Ava that made him feel like maybe it wouldn’t be so bad being friends with her.

Maybe he would regret that choice, but it was already happening he supposed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously sorry this took so long guys, I've been pretty sick lately both mentally and physically. But I've recently gone on new medication so I've been able to actually do things.
> 
> On that note, I have a patreon now if you want to support me in writing. 
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/blackshucksighted?ty=h

Peter was so very confused by women, not just in general but more by the women who existed in his life. Aunt May always seemed to be hinting at something that he couldn’t quite begin to understand, sly little hints that he thought with his brain he should be able to figure out. But still all he knew was that she wanted something.

May Jane was just as bad, he felt like that she might be flirting him, small touches that she didn’t have to do, coming over for dinner, and the smiles that she aimed at him...Harry would have told him to go for it no questions asked, but Peter wasn’t so sure.

Of course, Harry would have told him to ask Ava out too, and she was even stranger then Mary Jane sometimes. After he had talked her through her episode in the library she might be friendlier towards him. It wasn’t that she was cold, just that she wasn’t the same person she had been that night. Not that he blamed her, she had been vulnerable and scared of something, he hadn’t asked.

Ava was still a good partner for their class, and she was social enough before and after, he was just thinking there would be some kind of dramatic change in their relationship. Apparently that was the wrong idea. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been wrong so many times before.

He really wished that Harry wasn’t an ocean away, because as much as he could skype or call, there was something to be said for face to face communication. Harry might not have had the best ideas all of the time, but at the very least he could talk it everything that was happening out.

If he thought it would be that easy, he might have tried to find someone else to talk about all of this too. But besides Harry, or even with Harry, it would be hard to explain why he was so concerned with Ava. He didn’t want to date her, he sort of got the feeling that she wasn't interested in any way in anyone. Not to mention there was a few times in class, even if she wasn’t looking at him all he could think was that she looked deadly. He understood resting bitch face as it was called, but Ava had something closer to resting murder face.

It had been a long time since he was confused by someone without romantic intentions or intentions of putting them in jail. Maybe that’s why he liked Ava because she wasn’t just straight forward enough for him to assume he knew her. He had learned that most people had hidden depths (he had never expected Flash to admit he bullied to release some of his own pain), but Ava was like a brain teaser.

A pretty, smart brain teaser. Which made the fact he didn’t want to date her all that more confusing, he should have been interested, he should have been as Harry would put it, “Putting the moves on her”. But he didn’t, he just wanted to talk to her and understand what was going on under the mask of displeasure.

He had been putting off asking anyone for the pure reason he didn’t want romantic advice, he wanted friend advice. But everyone kind of got stuck in their own world of assumption, even Aunt May if he dared use a gendered pronoun. It all came to a head when M.J. came over for dinner again, giving the excuse that she had nothing in her fridge and Aunt May had given her an open invitation to come over whenever she wanted. If it was anyone else he would have asked why she didn’t just go over to her parents, but he understood for years of muffled yelling that MJ’s parents were why she valued Aunt May’s offer so much.

Since the age of thirteen MJ had been a constant figure in his life, the cute girl next store, someone who needed comfort, a friend, the comforter, the person who was there for him when it all seemed to go to shit. So, of course, she noticed when he was picking at his tuna casserole like it was garbage and he was trying to find his phone.

“Okay Petey, come on, what’s wrong?” She nudged his leg with her foot, raising her eyebrows at him, “You love Aunt May’s cooking, and I’ve never seen you not eat it before”

He gave her a small smile, putting his fork down before he would completely destroy his food, “Ah it’s nothing don’t worry about me”, and he was tempted to ask her for advice but would rather not get into the ribbing that would come along with admitting he was having girl troubles.

Mary Jane pushed her foot against his leg again, leaning across the table, giving him a look that said she would drag the whole story out of him if he had to, “Come on…tell me. Don’t you trust me, Peter? Aren’t we friends?”

“I…”, he bit his lip, thinking of just what he wanted to say about all of this, “There’s a girl”, he could see what she was thinking and cut that thought off at once, “No. Not like that, she’s a friend. Or I want her to be a friend, I don’t really get what…she wants out of me”

“Just be yourself. How can she not like you if you do that? Unless she’s some kind of statue or something…which I guess is kind of possible. She isn’t a statue is she?” Mary Jane thought she should ask before she could into giving more any advice.

Peter shook his head, trying to think of how to work out just what Ava was, “I think she’s just…I dunno, there’s something about her. She’s quiet but really smart. But it’s not like she’s not nice, she’s never been anything but nice. I think she’s just”, he wiggled his hands there weren't words that he could find for Ava.

“But you think she wants to be your friend right? So just…ask her if she wants to hang out later or something. Like a normal person”, Mary Jane shoved hr foot against his leg again, a little bit harder this time, “I swear I don’t know how you made any friends in high school”

Peter grinned, holding up fingers and flicking them down as he spoke, “Tutored Harry, lived next to you, Gwen was a science geek…”, he didn’t add that he had almost lost a few of those friends because of being Spider-man but MJ didn’t need to know that, “High school was easier, I saw you guys every day”

“That’s a terrible excuse, you don’t see Harry all the time and you guys are still friends…right?” she added the last part cautiously, aware of what had gone down that senior year of school. Or as much as she could be. Everyone knew that Norman Osborn had become the Goblin, but only he knew that Harry blamed him.

“…Yeah. I think so he’s talking about coming home for Christmas and how we’re going to hit up all the college parties. Apparently whatever he’s doing over there doesn’t allow for very much fun, keep a lid on the anger”, the idea of seeing Harry again twisted his stomach up, on the one hand, it was his best friend, or the other, who knew if Harry’s anger towards Spiderman was really under control.

“Oh, I’m sure that will go fantastic. He still wants to get you a date”, Mary Jane grinned, putting her head in her hands, “Hasn’t he learned yet that you don’t have any time for that sort of thing? I mean the first time I hear you talking about a girl in years and it’s someone in your science class that you just want to be friends with. Because she’s smart”

Peter shrugged, internally dreading the idea of Harry attempting to get him laid. IT never went well and Harry just didn’t seem to learn that Peter wasn’t the one-night stand type. Or possibly the girl type, he hadn’t even started to try and analyze that. There were other things to worry about.

“Hopefully, he’ll just want me to be his wingman”, Peter gave Aunt May a shy smile as she took his plate away, and she only shook her head at how little he had eaten.

“A growing boy and he still won’t eat all of his food, what will I do with you?” May clicked her tongue, Mary Jane laughing as she did so, “Look Mary Jane eats all of hers, I wonder who my real relative is”

Peter put his head in his hands, flushing with embarrassment at Mary Jane witnessing this, “I’m sorry Aunt May. Just thinking about things”

“Always thinking, just like your Uncle Ben”, May smiled, slightly wistful at the mention of her late husband, “And apparently thinking about girls. Just like your Uncle Ben”, she rolled her eyes, taking the plates into the kitchen.

“It’s not like that Aunt May!” but he knew it was useless, she was really just teasing him. All she wanted was for him to be happy he knew, but being happy brought about its own set of issues that he wasn’t ready to deal with, “…so how do I ask her to hang out?”

Mary Jane raised her eyebrow, “Peter. Really”

“What! The only person I see on a regular basis is you and that’s because you come to steal our food. I don’t invite you here”, Peter narrowed his eyes before jumping back with a shriek. What had originally been a gentle shove was now a sharp kick to his shin.

“You love me”, she gave him a sweet smile, “Now, all you have to do is call her, you do have her number?” he nodded, “Call her, ask her to have coffee with you, and do homework or something. Be sure to add that it’s not a date”

“I...I can do that”, he nodded his head, crossing his arms over his chest. Despite the fact, his stomach had dropped like a rock, “I think? Can I? Oh Jesus”

Mary Jane kicked him again, “Look call her right now while I’m here so if you get nervous and you start acting like an idiot, I can kick you. Or give you advice, either or. Whatever it comes to. You can deal with that right?”

Peter nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket though his shaking hands caused him to drop it on the table. He coughed before picking it up again. He could do this, it wasn’t any different than calling Gwen about a study date. But it wasn’t a date, there was no dating involved. Mary Jane kicked him again, pulling him out of his circle of terror.

“Okay okay! I’m calling her”, he scrolled through his contacts until he hit Ava. Not that he had to go very far, he didn’t know that many more people with names that started with A. It took a few rings but she picked up.

“Ava Ayala”, she sounded a bit out of breath, “If this is Matt, I don’t care”  
He blinked, confused before he answered, “Ah…no, it’s Peter. Peter Parker, form class? We traded phone numbers encase of you know homework stuff?”

“Oh shit Peter sorry”, Ava was apologetic and a little embarrassed, “I thought you were someone else. Didn’t really look at the number before I answered, “What can I do for you? You got the assignment form last class right?”

“Um yeah I did, that’s not why I’m calling…I was just wondering if you would want to get…like coffee or something. We could work on the assignment and stuff, not a date like just…friends. Coffee friends. With Studying involved”, he winced at how stupid he knew he was sounding, but it was hard to make his thoughts work.

*

White Tiger landed on the roof top with a thump, her phone buzzing away in her pocket. The only reason she brought it with her on patrol was incase someone was critically injured. Like herself. Or something she happened to punch in the face. Pulling it out of her coat, she maybe a little bit too quickly answered, “Ava Ayala if this is Matt I don’t care”

She flushed with embarrassment as she realized that no, it wasn’t Matt. It was Peter, the poor kid who she just seemed to keep insulting somehow. And he just wanted to get coffee with her. Listening to him go on, he was clearly nervous, she settled herself on the ledge of the roof. If they were going to take she would be comfortable at least.

Ava leaned back, her feet dangling over the ledge of the building. The alley bellow didn’t look like anything much, but that meant no one would look up and see the white figure sitting up there. “Peter, I understand that we’re going to get coffee. And study, but not in the sense of a date”, she pulled her knee up to her chest, “Saturday work for you? I’m going to the gym around 2 but I should be done by 3 if that works for you?”

Peter took a moment to answer, “Y-yeah that’s great. Um, the place by the college? Or do you want to meet at the gym? I assume you mean the gym at the college?”

“I’d rather meet at the gym if you don’t mind. It’s easier, especially when there’s like three coffee shops near the college. I get the feeling we’d get confused and go to the wrong one”, she closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about Saturday. It was kind of hard to think of a time that she had done anything normal. Normal didn’t really fit into the schedule of a superhero.

“Yeah I can do that! In the lobby, if you don’t mind. There’s someone who likes the gym I’d rather not run into”, Peter still sounded nervous, why she couldn’t begin to guess but it was starting to albeit a little bit.

“I’m looking forward to it Peter”, she smiled under her mask, enjoying the one moment of calm before she went off again, “See you then”

“Yeah! Can’t wait!” Peter hung up though she thought that was probably more because he was so nervous and less because he was trying to be rude. He was a strange guy, not that she really minded. IT was hard to find someone completely normal in this day and age.

She locked her phone, sliding it into the protected pocket of her jacket. Couldn’t have someone punching her and breaking the phone. She really liked that phone, and she didn’t honestly want to spend the money on a new one.

Ava sighed, wondering if maybe she should just go home. There hadn’t been enough activity for her to even get a slight work outgoing, let alone enough to think about losing another night of sleep. Not that if she went home there would be a lot of sleeping going on. Her dreams wouldn’t stop, and she was half a second away from going back to a psychologist for some kind of sleeping pill. PTSD was a bitch, especially when she had been dealing with it so well for most of her life.

Getting to her feet, Ava stretched her arms above her head and arching her back like the cat she took her name form. The moment of speaking to Peter had been nice, but it was time to go form Ava back to White Tiger.

White Tiger jumped from her ledge, landing on the next building. Cats did always land on their feet and she was no different though it did send slight shocks up her legs. It didn’t hurt anymore, though, her tights were strong enough that she could stand most things at this point. She continued on, jumping form building to building if only to feel the burn start in her calves. It was always a weird night when the city was quiet, but on some level that meant there might be something worse going on. Something that she couldn’t see yet.

A thought that made her irate and angry, most of the time criminals were idiots and not smart enough to keep their shit under wraps. And as much as she wished it sometimes, she wasn’t her brother. She wasn’t a trained cop, she was just a college student who half the time felt like she was drowning under the pressure of her name.

She really needed to find someone to hit because she was thinking too much about her life and how it always seemed to come back to Hector. Everything was Hector, always Hector.

White Tiger groaned, holding her head. There was the barest bit of a headache beginning to start, something that wasn’t helping with her patrol. Her fingers found the back of her neck, kneading the tense muscles there. It helped a little bit but she knew that if she didn’t get home soon that it would just get worse. To the point where she would probably being seeing things that didn’t really exist.

A noise caught her ear, something that maybe a human wouldn’t have been able to hear but the enhanced hearing that her amulet gave her easily caught. A bit of violence, the sound of flesh hitting flesh. It was one that she heard a little bit too much in this city, but at least, this time, she could do something about it.

It was easy enough to find what was going on, two guys ganging up on a girl that was clearly uninterested in what they were trying to say. The bright purple bruise on her cheek was telling about what had happened before she showed up. Thankfully she would be able to keep any more violence form happening that night. And maybe someone would end up going to jail, or just in traction. Traction and then jail would be preferable.

“Come’on baby we paid for a dance don’t you wanna dance with us?” one of the men, barely older than her in a lime green sweater was grabbing at the girl’s arm, “We paid, don’t that mean you’re ours for the night?”

The girl pulled away, her coat falling open to reveal the short skirt and tight t-shirt underneath, a waitress or a dancer maybe. Someone who had probably dealt with idiots like that a few too many times. She didn’t even seem scared just pissed as hell.

“Get. Away. Form. Me.” The girl hissed, her hair swinging as she jerked away from the man.

White Tiger stepped on to the fire escape, attempting to not make a sound. She grabbed the railing, hanging off of the fire escape before she dropped to the ground. The girl’s eyes widened before White Tiger pressed a finger to her masked lips, and shook her head. Thankfully the men were too distracted by the woman they were sexually harassing to notice that anything different had happened.

White Tiger stood up, sliding up behind them with silent footsteps. She raised her hands, grasped the backs of their necks. They struggled for a moment before she shoved them to the ground, “I think you should go. Be careful”, she looked straight at the girl as she spoke, and the girl nodded, sprinting as fast as she could in her teetering heels, “Now boys”  
The pair tried to struggle but Ava held them strong, enough that she was sure there would be bruises on their necks in the morning, “I find it very disturbing that you think that paying a woman to dance for you means that she’ll do anything for you. Do you think that the cashier at the grocery store should sleep with you because you pay for some M&Ms?” she thought for a second before answering for them, “Don’t say anything. I’m sure I know what you two idiots think of that comparison”

She released her grasp on their necks, just enough that she knew they were still breathing, “SO this is how it’s going to work, I’m going to take your pictures and I’m going to tell everyone that you are disgusting assholes who harass women, good?”

White Tiger lifted up one of her feet, pushing her foot into one of the men’s back. She lifted her hand form that one’s neck, using her hand to dig through his pockets, “Jeremy White? That’s a terrible name”, she flipped through his pictures pulling one out and sending it to a friend, “Annand”, she found a girl’s name on the phone, sending a text message, “Okay so I just told your girlfriend that…’Check out the tits on this one’, I hope that goes well for you”

She shifted so that her hand was back on his neck and her foot was on his friend’s neck. She repeated the process with the second phone, “I think you two should be arrested but I suppose if I can get your stupid asses banned from every strip club in town that will be good enough. And if you think about going after our mutual friend, then”, she pulled at their necks, before slamming them down into the pavement, “Don’t fucking think about it”

White Tiger stood up, before she had a thought. She grabbed the two phones again, throwing them on the ground before her foot came down on them with a crunch, “Have a fun with buying new phones. Yours are shitty anyways”

For a moment she considered what to do, the girl couldn’t be that far away and it was possible that she was still terrified. On top of that if she had a phone, it would be better for her to call the cops then White Tiger. No need for her phone to traced. White Tiger groaned, her fingers massaging the back of her neck again. It was going to be a longer night then she thought but she couldn’t leave the poor girl alone.

She took a step out of the alley and was met with a purse held high by the girl she had been protecting. Clearly the woman had been expecting one of her harassers to come out. That or she wasn’t totally sure that she could trust White Tiger.

Not that Tiger really blamed her, the Avengers sure, but a six-foot tall person dressed in all white with a mask was a little bit more suspicious then Iron Man or Captain America. She raised her hands, waiting for the purse to hit her but it never came.

“You scared the shit out of me” the girl lowered her purse, letting out a sigh of relief, “I thought those assholes got the jump on you or something, “I guess luck was on my side tonight if you came to my recuse…”, she grinned, and for the first time, White Tiger took note of her hair, not blond but pure white, curling around her shoulders.

“White Tiger”, she managed to force out, suddenly aware that there was a lovely woman standing in front of her. She felt like a teenaged boy trying to talk to a cheerleader. IT was stupid she was a superhero now, girls loved superheroes. Well maybe straight girls didn’t love female superheroes but still, “I don’t think they’ll be bothering you very much anymore Ma’am”

The girl flapped her hand, “Felicia, please. And I’m less worried about myself and more worried about the girls at the club. I’m just the bartender, they’re the ones that have to deal with those idiots head on all the time”

She grunted, understanding what Felicia was talking about, “I don’t suppose you have a cell phone. As much as I dislike their behavior, I don’t kill people”, despite what the nagging voice in her head said sometimes, and the blood lust that threatened to overwhelm her if she got too out of control.

“Yeah sure, I get you. Murder is bad for business anyways”, Felicia pulled her phone out of her purse, dialing the number. The instant someone picked up her voice went form confident woman too terrified girl, “Oh god I got attacked outside Kitty’s Club and then this handsome person in white”, she winked at White Tiger as she said it, “saved me but I think the guys that attacked me are hurt and-and oh no there’s blood!” she hung up before any more questions could be asked, “Good?”

White Tiger flushed under her mask at the suggestion that she was the handsome person, not a title she was unused to with her height and build but still. It wasn’t very often she heard it out of the mouth of someone like Felicia. The lovely dark red mouth of someone like Felicia, “Perfect thank you. I have to insist that you either take a cab home or allow me to walk you home”

Felicia put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at White Tiger, “I don’t think my luck is that bad, that’ll be attacked twice in one night”, before White tiger could protest she continued, “But I won’t turn down the assistance of a lovely lady”

“You can’t even see my face”, White Tiger mumbled but Felicia was already strutting down the sidewalk, not waiting for her new bodyguard to follow. Not that it took much to catch up to her, but White Tiger was impressed at how fast Felicia went in those heels, “Does this happen often?”

“Hmm? You mean the assholes harassing people outside the club?” Felicia turned her head slightly, still having to look up at White Tiger despite her heels, “Yeah pretty much all the time. Most girls get away okay but we’ve had a few bad times. Not like the cops really care, even if you end up dead”

Her face twitched slightly to hear cops talked about like that, but she knew that not everyone was her brother. That’s why it was so important for him to be Whit Tiger, because sometimes the police wouldn’t or couldn’t do anything, “I can swing by more often then. Or…ah”, it wasn’t like she was flirting or trying to set up a date, such things didn’t work when you wore a mask but she was still nervous, “Give you my number if something happens”

Felicia raised her eyebrows again, which White Tiger noted where the same pale white as her hair. No dye, completely natural. “I guess you could do that, I mean it is Kitty’s club so a Tiger protecting us would make sense”

“Puns. Hilarious”, White Tiger said in a vaguely deadpan voice, she hadn’t even considered that part of it, “As long as you don’t hand me over the cops or anything”

Felicia snorted, shoving her phone into White Tiger’s hands, “I think we just discussed this. Cops don’t do shit for us, if you’re willing to help out…then I’m not going to say no. On that same note if you know anyone who needs a job as a bouncer, send them our way. We’re so lacking”

White Tiger nodded, entering the number for her cell in Felicia’s phone under W.T., hopefully not something that would raise any suspicion, “I’ll ask around” she handed the phone back, Felicia’s hand brushing over hers as she did so. Even through her gloves she could feel the warmth of the other woman.

“Ah this is me”, Felicia smiled as they stopped in front of a building. It wasn’t much better than the one White Tiger lived in and honestly not that far away, “Thank you again. I don’t know where I would be without you”, she stood on her toes, grasping White Tiger’s shoulders as she pressed a kiss to her cheek, “I’ll call”

With that Felicia turned around and strolled into her building, leaving one very stunned superhero standing on the street.


End file.
